Report: Paulo Filho Says UFC Wasn't an Option

PRIDE veteran Paulo Filho (14-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who headlines a stellar WEC 29 card on Sunday, says he was offered a WEC contract — and only a WEC contract — when he was initially approached by Zuffa LLC officials.

Filho, one of the world’s top 185-pound fighters, will take on Joe Doerksen on Sunday night for the vacant WEC middleweight title. It’ll be a co-main event with WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit vs. Brock Larson.

The event airs on the Versus network at 9 p.m. ET.

Zuffa acquired the WEC in December 2006, and since the initial purchase, UFC president Dana White and other officials have been steadfast in their claims that the WEC wouldn’t be a feeder system for the big show. In fact, officials have continually stressed that the WEC would be one of the world’s top two organizations with the UFC.

(For more information about the WEC’s recent success, check out our story from earlier this week about Jens Pulver’s move to the organization.)

However, when Filho was signed to the WEC — and not assigned to the UFC’s somewhat-thin middleweight division — some fans wondered if he was ducking better competition or possibly avoiding a potential showdown with training partner and friend Anderson Silva, the UFC’s current middleweight champion.

Q: When Zuffa first approached you, did they give you a choice between fighting for the UFC or WEC?

PF: No. I wasn’t given a choice. I was offered a chance to fight in the WEC and that’s what I took.

Q: Was any detail provided as to why they wanted you for the WEC as opposed to the UFC?

PF: There was no detail given. The WEC is a huge organization, and I feel it’s one of the best in the world, and right now I think the opportunity for me to be in the WEC is a much better situation. There’s a lot of big names in the UFC, and I don’t have a huge name in the U.S. With the WEC, we’ll both be able to grow together. The WEC and Paulo Filho will be able to grow their names in the U.S. together, and that’s why I feel it’s a better choice for me.

Q: There were reports that one reason why you’re in the WEC is because you’re good friends with current UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and don’t want to fight him. Is that correct?

PF: We’re under the same management and we train together. That is true, but that’s not really the case (of why I’m in the WEC) as we chose to go to the WEC because I wanted to. But we are friends and I wouldn’t want to have that fight happen, but if that fight were to happen, then hey, we’d fight and it would be a phenomenal fight and then we’d go out to dinner after.

There’s no doubt that Filho could quickly become one of the WEC’s biggest stars with a victory on Sunday. He’d join current WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber as not only one of the organization’s top talents — but also the world’s.

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